Longnose gar, pretty good size and a good fight. Some people say they are good eating.
Not for us, we threw it back.
Posted on 08/29/2022 9:41:09 PM PDT by 11th_VA
Sightings of alligator gar - dubbed “monster fish” in mainland China - which authorities fear could trigger an ecological disaster have been reported in at least eight provinces. This followed the draining of an entire lake in central China on the weekend that eventually caught a pair of the invasive fish species.
The large species of freshwater fish, which has razor-sharp teeth and can grow up to three metres long, has captivated the nation after a high-profile, month-long hunt for it that culminated in the draining of an entire lake in the city of Ruzhou in Henan. Now other parts of the country, including capital city Beijing, have reported the existence of the previously little-known fish, which many fear could harm local residents and the environment as it has few natural predators.
Normally found in North and Central America and believed to have entered China through the exotic pet trade, a male and a female alligator gar, measuring 70 and 90 centimetres respectively, were caught and received “harmless treatment” in the Ruzhou lake on Saturday.
The capture came after a month-long search was triggered following a sighting by a local resident and a video of the fish appeared online in July…
Though reports about attacks on people are rare, they pose a passive threat as its eggs are poisonous to humans if ingested. Chinese authorities have listed it as one of the 10 major invasive organisms threatening China’s ecosystem.
(Excerpt) Read more at amp.scmp.com ...
Emerald ash borer.
Chestnut blight.
Dutch elms disease.
Asian longhorn beatle.
The list goes on...
zebra mussels and Asian carp
. - .
Lantern flies.
Not to mention Wuhan Flu
Catch ‘em all the time on Guadalupe river near Tivoli TX.
I clean and eat anything between 3’ and 6’.
It is like a solid blackstrap. Cut into 1” steaks, roll in mustard, marinade over night then roll into fresh ground coarse corn meal after salt, pepper and garlic. It is a coarse meat fish like ling.
But I never eat the eggs like the zipper heads do.
Sure it wasn’t needle-nose gar? I have fished for them in the Brazos, as well. Took a Sawzall and ran it down the back, pulled out the backstraps and sautéed them in butter. Tastes like lobster.
Good.
***Normally found in North and Central America and believed to have entered China through the exotic pet trade,****
Payback for all those exotic Asian jumping carp and swamp eels and other weird fish they have dropped in American lakes.
When I was a kid, my brother tried to catch one in a pond we used for skating in winter. He said they would strike a lure, but he couldn’t set a hook in their mouth. He made a lure with thin metal loops to snag on their teeth. I forget whether that worked.
Emerald ash borer.
Chestnut blight.
Dutch elms disease.
Asian longhorn beatle.
The list goes on...
zebra mussels and Asian carp
. - .
Lantern flies.
What obnoxious and destructive pest do we have to share with them? Gypsy moths?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.